The Half Life of Snails is a gripping novel about a single mother with a child whose family farm is threatened by the local nuclear power plant. With themes of paranoia, displacement and the threat of nuclear disaster, Philippa Holloway brings us through Wales and the Ukraine as the main character travels to Chernobyl under the threat of war while leaving her survivalist savvy son to fend for himself. This is a page turner that will leave you as paranoid as the main character, with reason.

Not a fun book to read by any means, which feels so bleak and foreboding but I guess that is the point. Reading this during the invasion of Ukraine gave me really mixed feelings about the subject matter. The book is paced very slowly and the open ending was certainly not for me. I didn't connect with the main character, making this hard to keep reading as a character-driven story.

It was weird reading this book while Russia were invading Ukraine. It's wonderfully written, with great characters. It is definitely one of those books that is all about the journey.

Thanks to NetGalley and Parthian for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

One line Summary: Interesting & well written enough to recommend. I enjoyed this book.

Starting with the positives for this title, I really enjoyed the authors style of writing & found the Characters believable & relatable. Clearly a lot of research has gone in to the subjects covered in the story. The tale starts well & exposition of the relationships between & attitudes of the main protagonists are revealed carefully across the first few chapters. I was hooked from quite early on & really enjoyed how the story progressed

From around 2/3 of the way through I felt as though the story & the characters had stopped developing. I don't feel like I really ended up understanding the characters or why they behaved as they did. I also felt like the ending arrived about 2 chapters before it should have - It was quite abrupt & ultimately just a tiny bit dissatisfying. I had hoped for their to be revelations about characters, relationships & motivations, or even just a bit of understanding between characters that were seemingly polar opposites - but I suppose I can continue that story in my head, to my satisfaction.

A book that's rather timely. Two sisters - on two sides of a nuclear debate. Jennifer works for the company that's building the power plant - Helen knows the danger the plant will bring. This isn't a happy tale, and this isn't a happy book. This is a book that is rife with tension and heartbreak.

It's sad and overall a necessary story that needs to be told because where is the line? Is it money? Is it family?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was fortunate enough to read a wonderful Nightjar Press chapbook by Philippa Holloway, The Message, a few years ago. The story contained a close relationship between a mother, son, and nature, and I was delighted to see this theme was continued in Holloway’s fantastic debut novel, The Half-Life of Snails.

The Half-Life of Snails is about so many things. At the center of the story is Helen, a single mother to Jack, who is embarking on a pilgrimage of sorts to Chernobyl. Helen has grown up on a Welsh farm in the looming shadow of a power station, and has raised her son in preparation for disaster. Helen leaves her son with her sister, Jennifer, while she visits Chernobyl, testing everyone involved to their limits. But when Helen falls off the radar, and doesn’t return to Wales as expected, things really spiral out of control.

This is such an unconventional story, but told through believable, genuine characters. The dual narrative between Helen and Jennifer’s lives works incredibly well. Holloway does a fantastic job in building tension, especially with Helen’s story. Helen’s reckless behavior makes for fascinating reading, but I did internally yell, “what the hell are you doing?” several times.

The Half-Life of Snails is such a unique novel, and given the recent attacks on Ukraine, quite prescient. In the wrong hands, a story revolving around family and nuclear power stations could be incredibly stale. But the fact that Holloway has created these warm characters, the reader wants to follow them, is a testament to her beautiful writing. Incredibly enjoyable.

Eh I don’t know about this one. It was intriguing but problematic in so many ways. Where did Helen’s money come from if the farm cannot sell lamb, fleece, or veg due to the proximity? Why did she not call home from a pay phone or something? She’s a very selfish character, almost painfully so. Her poor son.

Helen blames everyone but herself for basically everything. She’s bitter and dead inside. Her reaction to someone dying was “oh well glad I didn’t have sex with him” really? Her child is dirty and stinky all the time and basically has no manners or composure. I felt let down the book didn’t address Helen’s sister breaking her rules in the end. Jack had new clothes, toys, was permitted to go to the nuclear reactor location etc. no mention of it in the end. Why?

Let’s talk about the ending. What a total and complete let down. It felt like the author just gave up writing the story and said oh well. That’s it. This felt very disrespectful to the reader that stuck in there for the long haul, and what a slog it was.

Helen puts herself in danger with every step due to her own stupidity and yet blames everyone else around her for the problems she encounters. Total and complete narcissist. Poor Jack.

It felt like the author decided to write this for a free trip to the Chernobyl zone for “research”

The Half-life of Snails has such an interesting premise, but I found the pacing and characters a little hard to deal with at times. Like a lot of character-focused books, things move at a ‘snail's pace’ and it takes a while to reach the heart of the story. Where the character’s struggles are interesting, I didn’t really want to spend much time with any of them while the next step of the plot was developing. However, if you are interested in a character focused book that is a bit dark and covers some of the earlier stages of Ukraine and Russia’s turbulent history, this book is worth checking out.

Helen has always been suspicious of the nuclear power plants. Though many believe they provide ‘safe’ and ‘clean’ energy, she knows different. That is why she has prepared her young son, Jack, for inevitable disaster. But not everyone shares Helen’s fears; including her sister Jennifer. Jennifer and her husband Ioan work for the plant close to the farm which has provided a comfortable living for them. Their loyalty to the plant remains unshaken, even as proposals for a new facility threaten the family farm. Helen is leading the fight to stop construction and feels Chernobyl might be the key to halting the project for good. Spurred by a potential cancer diagnosis, Helen leaves Jack in Jennifer and Ioan’s care while she takes a brief trip to see the Exclusion Zone for herself. However, political tensions might make getting back harder than Helen could have ever anticipated.

This book takes place during Russia’s annexation of Crimea and is therefore quite relevant to the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. That being said, this issue is not the central focus of the book. The themes in this journey are interesting and compelling as a whole. However, there is a lot of odd pacing where the scene either does not add to the story or switches perspective too quickly to really engage with what is going on. I don’t mind a little fluff, but the pacing issues cause the story to drag.

This story definitely paints a bleak picture with very little levity to balance it. Though it didn’t really affect my feelings about it overall, some readers might find it a little oppressive. A lot of the characters are naturally stiff and closed off, but the lack of any warmth made them feel stilted and hard to connect with. Personally, I wasn’t really invested in what happens to the characters which overshadowed a lot of the good things this book has to offer.

I really love the title of the book and the front cover they really drew my attention to the book from the very beginning. Even before I knew what it was about, I knew I wanted to read it.

The half life of snails tells the story of two sisters Helen and Jennifer. Helen is a single mother of her son Jack. Helen is a doomsday prepper. Who leaves her son Jack with her sister Jennifer. So that she can go to visit the Chernobyl's exclusion zone. Helen is there to oppose plans for a new power station on the coast of Ynys Mon. Jennifer works for a nuclear power industry and welcomes the plans as she thinks it will be good for the economy. Helen finds herself trapped in Chernobyl caught up in the politics, nuclear war and violence. Which is bringing lots of childhood trauma back to her. Jennifer is discovering that all decisions no matter how small have consequences. Can the family come together to heal the past and bring their family closer together for Jack.

This was a really interesting storyline. But quite haunting too while reading this with everything that is going on in the Ukraine with Russia. It was a haunting and devestating storyline and felt very true to life.

It was weird reading this book while Russia were invading Ukraine. It's wonderfully written, with great characters. It is definitely one of those books that is all about the journey. It was incredibly compelling and the ending left me wondering what happened next.

I am in awe. So much so, that it’s hard for me to put into words just how amazing this book is.

Helen, and her son Jack, are doomsday preparers and are very opposed to nuclear power. Meanwhile, Jennifer, Helen’s sister, works for a nuclear power plant. While Helen goes on a trip to the Chernobyl site, Helen is in charge of watching Jack which proves to be a feat in itself. When Helen gets caught up in political protests, tensions rise with Jennifer and her change of routine. Without updates from her sister, Jennifer starts to wonder about the choices her sister has made.

I loved the writing in this book and the prose were just beautiful. I couldn’t stop reading and, once it was over, hoped to get at least one more chapter to see what the future held for all the characters. There isn’t a happy ending in this book, which was quite unexpected, but it didn’t ruin the storyline like many would think. I personally believe it added to it and definitely made the reader think about what happened next. Does Helen get Jack back? Does Jack go to live with Jennifer and her husband? Does their mom pass away from cancer and does Helen find out her diagnosis? Such a beautiful story and was happy to be able to read it.

Reading "The Half Lives of Snails" during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was quite haunting, as the author quite captures the requisite morose atmosphere and feelings of dread. Taking place both in Wales and Ukraine as Russia annexes Crimea, sisters Jennifer and Helen, separated by differing opinions on nuclear energy test their relationship each other and with Helen's five year old son Jack.

I wanted to like the novel, but I felt that the majority of "Half Lives" was a slog. Helen trudges through Ukraine to research the aftermath nuclear disasters (or something?) while Jennifer watches Jack, and nothing goes particularly well for either of them. The book dives too deeply in some areas and not deep enough in others. Overall, I think there are some sparks here, but nothing quite caught flame.

It was a strange and thought-provoking novel of Holloway. While reading, I was afraid of those living near Chernobyl and was thinking of the status of Ukraine and Russia. Nevertheless, the fear and the emotions of the characters were well-portrayed; the setting was vivid.

However, the ending was left open-ended and I was clearly not a fan of it.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Helen is strictly opposed to the Nuclear Power station they are planning to build in her area. She decides to visit Chernobyl to gather information to have the build cancelled. She asks her sister Jennifer to look after her five year old son while she is away.
A slow moving story which is quite bleak and also sad.
Thank you to NetGalley and Parthian Books for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Strange, evocative, and chillingly timely.

THE HALF-LIFE OF SNAILS follows "two sisters, two nuclear power stations, one child caught in
the middle" and yes, it's just as bleak as it sounds. This is about a family - and a world - in crisis; about political and personal struggles. It felt gigantic and intimate at the same time, and even though I wouldn't say it's a traditionally "enjoyable" story, it's still one I'd wholeheartedly recommend.

I was drawn to this book by the fantastic title and was quickly drawn into the story .I was touched by how topical the book was as sections were set on Ukraine and it talks about revolution and Russian oppression as well as the after effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster both in Ukraine itself and in Wales .
It’s never made clear exactly why the lead female character has developed such survivalist tendencies which she has passed onto her child .They live near a nuclear power station and their land is threatened by expansion and the building of a new power station
I loved the sections where she is on a tour of the Chernobyl plant and surrounding abandoned villages this gives the book a dystopian feel but is routed in actual events
The sections where she is running from authorities and trying to escape and the resultant crash are exciting and fast moving .This contrasts perfectly with the slower moving more mundane sections covering the child’s life as he stayed with family
I loved the spattering of Welsh language mostly used by child and mother ,this lent a feeling of otherworldliness
I read an early copy on NetGalley Uk

This was such an interesting and heartwrenching read. It was well written and had an intriguing storyline with well developed characters that I fell in love with. The story was heartwrenching but what made this more emotive was the fact that it is set in the Ukraine and although not an exact match to what is happening over there, it is close enough to make the reader think about it more than they already are. I really liked it and I will think about it for a long time to come. I dont want to go into the story too much as I want people to have the reading experience blind like I did, however, I cannot reccomend this book enough.